General Manny Pacquiao Topics

"The Sweet Science" website came out today with probably the best article written about Manny Pacquiao so far. It is written by a writer named, "Springs Toledo".

"Springs Toledo" is a strange name, even for a writer. If you reverse it, it ends up "Toledo Springs", which is like a familiar-sounding place in the US.

This writer also writes irregularly, sometimes a month apart, indicating that the topics he writes are carefully chosen.

The strange name, irregular, well-screened subjects and extra-ordinary writing style makes me think that "Springs Toledo" is a pseudonymn of a great literary writer/boxing fan. Or perhaps it is the work of a pool of writers, sharing their work for a special topic. In this case, it is Manny Pacquiao.

Here are the first five paragraphs of the article. The rest of the article can be read at the link at the bottom of the page:

"DECONSTRUCTING MANNY

By Springs Toledo

Manny Pacquiao: I’m just [an] ordinary fighter...

Freddie Roach (interrupting): –You’re not ordinary.

Manny Pacquiao: Sorry about that, master.

“He finds gaps,” said Emanuel Steward after Manny Pacquiao stopped Miguel Cotto in the twelfth round. Those three words mirror the words of a far older, far more legendary war tactician: Sun Tzu. “Strike at their gaps,” The Art of War asserted two thousand years ago, “attack when they are lax, don’t let the enemy figure out how to prepare.” The second knockdown of Cotto illustrated this theory. Cotto, a conventional boxer-puncher, was hit in the fourth round by an uppercut from the left side that went inside and underneath his guard. Pacquiao found a gap, capitalized on the momentary carelessness of an onrushing opponent, and spent the rest of the fight exploding every potential solution Cotto thought he had.

“When you are going to attack nearby make it look as if you are going to go a long way,” Sun Tzu said, “when you are going to attack far away, make it look as if you are going just a short distance.” Pacquiao seems to be moving out when he’s coming in and coming in when he’s moving out. He exploits expectations with illusions. He “draws them in” and then “takes them by confusion.” Trainer Freddie Roach, himself a former professional boxer, agrees that Pacquiao is “very hard to read.” Pacquiao continues punching when his opponent expects a pause, his angles are bizarre, and he is often not where he is expected to be after a combination. Due to such unorthodoxies, this southpaw is a master of destroying the timing and rhythm of a conventional fighter. He is similar to Joe Calzaghe in that regard. Mikkel Kessler said that Calzaghe “ruins your boxing.” Indeed, Pacquiao does worse than that.

While a disruptive boxer like Calzaghe spills ink all over your blueprint and laughs about it, Pacquiao ruins your blueprint, but then adds injury to insult by crashing the drafting table over your head.

THERE’S SOMETHING ABOUT MANNY
Pacquiao has athletic gifts that translate well in the ring: disruptive rhythm, timing, and speed, all financed by shocking power that belies his featherweight frame. As if this weren’t enough, his whiskers safely absorbed the shock of Cotto’s left hooks. He was never hurt, which raises eyebrows. Manny, we must remember, was exchanging punches in a division forty pounds north of the one he began in. And he reveled in it, he invited it, even snarling at times and standing disdainfully in the final stanzas to challenge the manhood of the retreating Puerto Rican. Roberto Duran, 58, watched from the crowd. His coal-black eyes remembering the night he dethroned another welterweight who thought he could outgun a smaller man. Duran watched Pacquiao’s black hair flying with the force of his blows, his beard paying unintentional tribute. A smile, once sinister, betrayed his lips."

Re: General Manny Pacquiao Topics

anyone else notice that whatever division manny fights in immediately becomes the "most exciting" and "deepest" division in boxing. 3 yrs ago feather/super feather was the deepest and most exciting with pac, barrera, morales and jmm. then manny moved up to lightweight and suddenly that's the most exciting with juan diaz, casamayor, katsidis, guzman, valero and then marquez when he moved up. then manny moved to jr welter and suddenly everyone's excited about amir khan, hatton, bradley, malignaggi, judah, rees and campbell all in one division. they were talking about how bradley and campbell can KO manny. now manny's in welter and suddenly it's the best division with pac, floyd, sugar shane, cotto and the returning antonio margarito. even good-but-not-great fighters like clottey and berto suddenly become marquee names. that's the star power manny brings to boxing. the division he enters suddenly lights up and the one he leaves becomes dry and stale. are we even aware what valero, diaz and guzman's next fights are?

mark my word, if manny moves up to jr middleweight, sisikat bigla sina yuri foreman, cory spinks and sergio martinez. i don't know much about martinez but yup, i think manny can beat either foreman or spinks.

Re: General Manny Pacquiao Topics

Originally Posted by yungha

mark my word, if manny moves up to jr middleweight, sisikat bigla sina yuri foreman, cory spinks and sergio martinez. i don't know much about martinez but yup, i think manny can beat either foreman or spinks.

Corey Spinks doesn't have KO power and is the perfect fodder for Pacman. Does he have a crown that Pacman can gobble? I haven't seen too much of Foreman but Manny can still pick him apart. Corey Spinks is not that tall at 5'9 1/2" while Foreman is 5'11". Their KO ratio is less than 30% so Pacman won't have to deal with very heavy hitters. I know it's a hollow crown but eight world titles is still eight world titles. Let's see Floyd JOY Mayweather top that.

Re: General Manny Pacquiao Topics

quote from manny during the cotto weigh-in. in more ways than one, the 2nd jmm fight was the turning point in his career. gone were the wild reckless swings and lunges, likewise the wild nights that disrupted his training. it was after that fight that pac really dominated and became the global superstar he is now.

“Speed conquers all but I also have the power. The second Marquez fight made me think. I never looked at my opponents’ tapes before that fight but now I do. At this level, hard gym workouts are not enough. I need to go to school for every opponent. I need to study them. I consider myself a student of boxing now, not just a fighter."

Re: General Manny Pacquiao Topics

^^^
I thought Pacquiao-Morales II was the turning point in Pacquiao's career. After being beaten by Morales thru the use of superior boxing skills in Pacquiao-Morales I, Pacquiao realized he needed to improve his own boxing skills to climb even greater heights.

Manny started developing his right hook, which Roach called "Manila Ice". You see him feinting more, moving his head better from side to side, and getting better with his footwork, moving laterally much better than he ever did before.

The result: A ninth-round knock out of Eric Morales, who at that point had never been knocked out before, If memory serves me right.

"Noynoy is Not My President!!!" at Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Noynoy-Aquino-is-NOT-MY-PRESIDENT/122596721092454?ref=ts

Re: General Manny Pacquiao Topics

Technique wise, the 2nd Morales fight would be a turning point. But in terms of changes in winning attitude, the 2nd JMM match probably was crucial and maybe the main event in his career which enabled him to propel to legendary heights in boxing.